The Disappearances
by bcfddancer4life
Summary: James Davenport, Rose LeRoy, Nathan Roesal, and Jade Carhartt are three ordinary freshmen trying to make it through high school. Their lives get turned upside down when people around them start mysteriously disappearing. Will they be able to make it through when everything in their lives suddenly revolves around The Disappearances? JDxRL, NRxJC
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1

~ROSE~

I take a deep breath. "Wind powered turbines help our atmosphere and the world we live in by…"

"…creating a better source of clean energy!" chirps my best friend and my partner for our biology project, Jade Carhartt. The bell rings immediately following her exclamation, and students begin to file out of the classroom. I give her a high five. "I think that was our best report all year!"

"Totally. But maybe next time we shouldn't have used sparklers in the visual. The Rock is giving us the stink eye, and I kind of feel bad about making the fire alarms go off. That's the third time this month!" I look over to see our biology teacher, Mrs. Rockfiels, looking at us hard. I don't even know what we did wrong this time. Yeah, Jade and I spilled acid with our last class lab, and ok, we did accidently set fire to the microscope we were using to study cells, but I don't see why- ok, I guess I see why she might be mad. Actually, considering we took up over half of her class time with the false fire alone, I'm surprised she didn't expel us. "Rose. Jade. Next time you pull a stunt like that, you're going to the office," she spews.

"But-"

"No buts. The office is the next step. And knowing you two, you'll be in there by the end of the week."

"I just don't get it," Jade groans as we walk out of biology, project in hand. "We never try and do any of this stuff, but somehow something always goes wrong. I'm nearly failing science, and if my mom finds out, she'll make me get a tutor. And then I'd have to quit archery. I did _not _get onto the varsity team just to have to quit," Jade fumes. We make a stop at my locker to drop off what remains of our science project, and as I'm trying to convince her that she isn't going to have to quit archery, James Davenport and Nathan Roesal, our two other best friends, come up to us and start immediately chattering a mile a minute.  
"I'm the only freshman that made the varsity swim team!" James says excitedly. James is tall, about 6'2" or 6'3", with dark brown hair and mischievous hazel eyes that always hint of another joke that he's about to tell.

"And I made the highest track team!" Nathan, 6'1", with sandy, dark blond hair and piercing blue eyes, explains with a grin.

"Congrats, guys! I wish I hadn't missed tryouts, James. I'll bet you were fantastic." I say to him. "Although I will get to see you swim. I'm sure I'll be at almost every meet with Nathan. Right, Nathan?" I ask him. But Nathan is staring into space with a dazed look on his face. "Nathan? Nate!"

"What?...oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was talking about watching you guys swim and run. What were you thinking about? You looked pretty out of it."

"I-I didn't get enough sleep. I was up until 2 a.m. finishing mine and James' biology project. Speaking of which, is the Rock in a good mood today?"

"Not really, "Jade answers. "But that may have something to do with the fact that our visual aide for our project managed to set off the fire alarm. Again."

"Geez, isn't that like, the third time you guys have done that this month?"

"Ugh. I'll see you in English, Rose," Jade says as she stalks away.

"Maybe I should have mentioned to her that we got in trouble for accidently turning on the sprinklers in the boys' room for the second time this _week_. I think the water at this school is seeking revenge on me for some reason, because I didn't even touch it this time. I just remember being really mad at Coach Rivers for making me swim extra laps, and all of a sudden, I'm wet as a seal," James smirks. "Later, Rosie. C'mon, Nate," he calls as he walks away. James is the only one who can call me Rosie. I've known him for as long as I can remember, and he's my best guy friend by far, even more so than Nathan.

As I head to my next period Calculus class, I ponder my relationship with James. I've known him for so long that he's like a second brother. He hangs out with me more than any other girl, even Jade, and we always ending up inviting each other on our family vacations- not that my parents mind, they look at James as another son, and the Davenports have told me numerous times that they are happy that I tag along, because apparently James and his little sister Erica fight less when I'm with them.

As I sit down at my usual seat in the small, overheated classroom, I say hi to the only other person my age in this class, Katie Nomand. We're the only two freshmen in this calculus class, because no freshman in their right mind would ever take this course at 14 years old when it's only a required course for seniors, and only the seniors in the advanced math course. Katie and I are the smartest people (at math) in our grade, so we have to join calc with sophomores and juniors to actually give ourselves somewhat of a challenge. My dad always says I didn't get my brains from him, and whenever I try to ask him whether or not I got it from my mother, he gets a faraway look in his eyes and he seems so distraught that I decide that it's best not to press the issue. My mother and father were engaged and planning to get married when they found out they were expecting me, so they had me, and lived together for almost three months. Just before they were supposed to get married, my mom was killed in a horrible car accident. My dad was heartbroken, but he eventually stopped grieving, and when he did, he met my legal mother, Savana. They got married when I was barely a year old, and she adopted me as her legal daughter and had my half-brother, Noah.

My calc teacher, Mr. Barnes, comes rushing into the room in his own personal tornado of pencils, car keys, his lunch, his briefcase, and a falling, large stack of papers that have yet to be graded. His wife is 7 months pregnant with their first child, and he said last week that she keeps him awake at all hours with her food cravings and bathroom trips every 5 minutes, which explains why he looks like he might fall asleep in the middle of one of his famous long-winded formulas. I grab my notebook, textbook, and a pencil and prepare myself for the notes that I will soon have to furiously start taking.

As soon as the bell rings I grab my things and hurry to my locker. Today is Pizza Wednesday, the only remotely decent food item Chican High School offers, and I promised Nathan I'd save him a seat. I head into the cafeteria and immediately see the one person I don't want to see: Bridget Foyker. She's the queen bee of the school, but not in the way that you would imagine. A normal queen bee is pretty, popular, and usually two-faced. Bridget is the strongest girl at Chican-just last week she put three of the big burly football jocks in the hospital using only her bare hands, and they're all seniors, too. I'm also pretty sure she's broken the school record for the most suspensions and office referrals, partially because in addition to her strength, she also speaks her mind. She usually stays away from me, but she's never forgotten when I humiliated her last year by accidently spilling my punch on her during the last eighth grade field trip. If the principal, vice principal, and a security guard hadn't been standing right next to her, she would have beaten me into a pulp. Since then, I know she's been waiting for me to give her just one reason to fight me. Luckily, I haven't done anything to make her mad, but I know it's only a matter of time. I can only hope she forgets about it before I do something I will really regret.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! So please review, because I have a vague idea where I want to go with this story, but I still need reviews. Oh, and I also have a poll going in my profile about which story I should start. Anyways, enjoy the story!**

Ch 2

-James-

I stride across the cafeteria to Rose, who looks a little preoccupied. I make a mental note to ask her later what she's thinking about. "Hey, Rosie," I say to her.

"Oh, hey, James. Are you getting pizza too? I've been trying to hurry because I promised Jade I'd save her a seat."

"I promised Nathan too. And I wouldn't miss pizza for the world. Especially since the only other food option is Meatball Surprise," I shudder. We get in line and order trays of hot, steaming pizza, complete with a salad and chocolate milk. I spy one of the only still-empty lunch tables, and motion to Rose to follow me. We sit down just as Nathan and Jade are entering the cafeteria. They look like they're deep in conversation, and stop quickly when they see us looking at them. They hurry into the line to get their pizza, blushing, and when they sit down Rose immediately starts interrogating them.

"What were you guys talking about over there?" she asks suspiciously, her eyes narrowing. Jade gives Nathan a worried look, but when he motions for her to tell us, she says, "Well, we don't exactly know what happened or why it happened, but do you guys know Rachel Johnson?" Rose and I nod yes, that we do know her. Rachel used to be one of Rose's best friends in kindergarten and 1st grade, but they had a big argument, and they aren't on the best of terms, even now. Jade continues, "We didn't see the door open or close to indicate that she had left the room, but one minute she was sitting in our economics class taking notes, and then all of a sudden she was just gone. Her clothes were gone too, but Marissa said she found Rachel's watch, earrings, and brackets from her braces on the seat where she was sitting-and even if she had slipped out the door and no one noticed, there's no way she could have taken her braces off without someone noticing. Her books were left completely open on her desk too, and you'd think if she knew she was gonna disappear like that, she'd at least put her books away, or take them with her."

Rose and I sit back, confused. How could a girl just disappear right out of her seat like that? "And you're sure she was there today? She wasn't sick or absent or anything?"

"I know she was there. I talked to her before class started," Nathan says decisively. "You know, let's just stop arguing and eat. The school would tell us if anything really bad happened, and there's no sense in letting good pizza go to waste."

I grab my homework and jacket out of my locker at the end of the day and hurry to bus number 4. I spy Nathan and Jade in the back of the bus. They wave to me as I get on, and Nathan pats the seat next to him. I plop down just as the bus lurches forward. "So, any more news on Rachel?" I ask them. "No, but she wasn't in my Spanish class right after lunch, so she must have gone home or something," Jade says. "We're meeting at your house to discuss our history project, right Nathan?"

"Right. So the topic is Columbus Day, and I was thinking that instead of the typical…" I tune out their conversation and think about my eventful day. With Rachel's disappearance, I forgot all about going to Nathan's house to work on our history project for Columbus Day, which is next week. History is the one class that the four of us have together, so we always try and stay in the same group for projects so that we can all hang out at someone's house while we work on it. Today we're meeting at Nathan's house, and Jade and I are tagging along with Nathan on the bus; Rose has a Mathletes meeting and is getting a ride from her mom to Nathan's house afterwards. The bus screeches to a halt at the stop for Nathan's house, and the three of us trudge off the bus and into the crisp October air, the fallen leaves crunching underneath our feet. We walk past old Mrs. McCuster's house, whom I did yard work and cleaning for all last summer. Nathan's house comes into view, and we hike up the driveway into the warm, sweet-smelling house. (Nathan's mom owns a bakery, so their house always smells really good.)

"Hi, guys! There's snickerdoodles and sodas in the den for you to snack on if you're hungry-I suppose that's a silly question, you four are always hungry," Mrs. Roesal says. "Speaking of the fourth member of your group, Savana is dropping Rose off at 4:15 after her Mathletes meeting, right?"

"Right, Mom. We're going to be in the den if you need us, ok?"

"Ok. But make sure that you actually get some work done instead of just talking the entire time." The three of us chorus our agreement and clamor downstairs to the den.

"Ok, so Columbus sailed the Atlantic with three ships, right?" Jade asks as she reaches for another snickerdoodle. "Yeah, the Niña, the Pínta, and the Santa Maria. Hey, maybe we could make a model of one of the ships as our project!" Nathan comments.

"Great idea! I'll Google images of the ship so we can start planning!" a voice calls from the doorway.

"Hey Rose!" I say as she bounds across the room towards the computer, backpack slung over her shoulder with her curly hair swinging. "How did the Mathletes meeting go?"

"Pretty good. We think we might actually have a shot at the state championship this year, if we can beat Deersfield." Deersfield High School is the rival school of Chican High, and they always manage to win the Mathletes tournament every year. I really hope Rose and the rest of the team does well this year, and with Rose finally able to compete as a freshman, Deerfield doesn't stand a chance. That girl's way smarter than most of the _adults_ I know. While Rose is researching images of the ships so that we can get started, Nathan runs upstairs to tell Mrs. Roesal what we've decided on for our project so she can see if she has any extra materials we can use. Jade and I start brainstorming the items we'll need to pull off the model, and also some ideas that we have for building it. Nathan comes back downstairs with a stormy look on his face. "She said she doesn't have really anything that we can use, and that I should probably ask my dad when he gets home. Actually, her exact words were, 'Do I look like I have supplies for you? I'm a baker, not a carpenter!' I think she's tired." The rest of us have to stifle laughs, and Nathan narrows his eyes, seeing what we're doing. "Very funny, guys. Laugh all you want, but she's still not _your_ mother." Rose and Jade burst out laughing, their hair swinging back and forth. Jade's long, straight, blonde hair is tied back into a ponytail, and her ice blue eyes make it easy to tell that she is able to befriend almost anyone she meets; she is easy-going and likes chatting to all sorts of different people. Rose, on the other hand, with her shy smile, is very sensitive around people. She tends to take a while to warm up to people, and even Jade, Nathan and I don't know everything about her; she guards her secrets with a steel will. Her long, curly, dark hair, currently pulled back into a simple braid, and her dark green eyes make her pretty, but her rather large IQ and the fact that she's almost 5'11" make guys rather scared of her. That doesn't bother her though, she thinks boys are too immature anyways. ( I suppose she has a point, considering the only three boys she hangs out with are me, Nathan, and her little brother Noah, and we're the kings of immaturity.)

"Hey, I think I found a good picture of the Pínta. Wow, can you believe how tiny that ship is? And they crossed the Atlantic in that? I do _not_ envy those poor men...," Rose quips. "Yeah, that's pretty small," Nathan observes. "But the bigger question is, did they have a bathroom, or did they just go off the side of the deck whenever they felt like it?" Everyone groans at Nathan's comment, and he just laughed. That's Nathan for you. That guy has a never-ending supply of puns, jokes, and riddles. And his favorite is what he calls "bathroom humor". "Either way, joke or no joke, that's a pretty small ship, guys. But look on the bright side- less ship area, less time it takes to build the model," I point out. They all agree, and with that note we agree to make the model this Saturday at Jade's house. Jade's dad is a construction worker, so hopefully he'll have some extra materials for us to make our model out of. We say goodbye, planning to sit together at lunch tomorrow to discuss what materials we need and how to get them. As I leave Nathan's house, one thing is for sure- it's looking like this project might just be the easiest A I've ever earned.

**And another chapter finished...as always, read and review, and check out my poll! -jazz**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I finally got another chapter up here, and I also updated my other story, a Harry Potter DracoxHermione fic, so please read that one too! So, please review, because I have a vague idea where I want to go with this story, but I still need lots of reviews. I am continuing the poll going in my profile about which story I should start. As always, enjoy the story!**

Ch 3

~ROSE~

As I head home, my mom asks me, "So, what are you four doing for your Columbus Day project?"

"We're building a model of one of the three ships that he sailed on to get over here."

"Oh, that should be fun to build. Is Mark Carhartt providing the supplies again?"

"Yeah. Jade's asking him if we can use his tools to help build it. And, we're meeting at her house on Saturday to start building it. Can you drive me there?"

"Sorry, Rose, I have to work. Why don't you ask your dad if he can take you?"

"Ok. I'll do that when we get home." As Mom turns down our street, I admire all of the leaves falling from the trees. I love this time of year, because it means that the holiday season is right around the corner; Thanksgiving is in just over a month, and Christmas isn't too long after that. We pull into the driveway, and I immediately hop out of the car and step into the warm house. After hanging up my jacket and saying hi to my dad, I head upstairs to my room. Flopping down onto the window bench, I grab my laptop and fire up my IM account. I see that James is also on and send him a message.

RosiePosie51 has logged on.

jbdavenportswims has logged on.

RosiePosie51: Hey james:)

jbdavenportswims: hey Rosie. so did u find anything on Rachel or is she still awol?

RosiePosie51: I didnt find anything so idk u?

jbdavenportswims: nope nothing here. Hey, my dad found some wood in our basement that he said we can use for the model. it's old looking and i think it'll work, i'll bring it to jade's on saturday.

jadeflower920 has logged on.

jbdavenportswims: speak of the devil.

jadeflower920: gee thanks james. Rose what is he chatting about?

RosiePosie51: we were discussing some wood his dad found in their basement. he said he's going to bring the wood to your house on saturday. so we can use it for the model.

jadeflower920: ok cool bring the wood, I'll have my dad take a look at it.

RosiePosie51: speaking of dads, I need to go ask mine if he'll give me a ride to your house on sat. brb

RosiePosie51 has logged off.

rousingroesal has logged on.

rousingroesal: hey guys. what's up?

jbdavenportswims: not much. hey, does either of u know anything more about what happened to Rachel 2day?

jadeflower920: only what u know.

rousingroesal: nada mi amigo. Lo siento.

RosiePosie51 has logged on.

RosiePosie51: good news jade, he can drive me. hey Nathan. did u just log on?

rousingroesal: yup. we were talking about how we all don't know anything about rachel johnson. well, anything more than jade and I told u and james at lunch.

RosiePosie51: ok that makes a bit more sense now. hey, did any of you happen to notice the calc homework? I think it was finding square roots to inverted quadratic equations (he wanted 2 start us out easy) but idk what it is.

rousingroesal: rose. I think u sometimes forget that u are the smartest 1 in our group. we don't do that kind of stuff yet, we're still working on algebra.

jadeflower920: no, but Katie Normand is my neighbor. i can go ask her if u want.

RosiePosie51: that would b awesome jade thanks so much!

jadeflower920: brb

jadeflower920 has logged off

RosiePosie51: james u've been awfully quiet.

jbdavenportswims: yeah I know. I was thinking.

rousingroesal: about what?

RosiePosie51: about what?

rousingroesal: copycat.

RosiePosie51: am not. I sent it the same time u did.

rousingroesal: are too

jbdavenportswims: guys?

Rosieposie51: am not!

rousingroesal: are too!

RosiePosie51: am not

rousingroesal: are too

jbdavenportswims: Roesal! LeRoy! ENOUGH!

RosiePosie: sorry james. I kinda forgot u hadn't logged out.

rousingroesal: yeah, sry man. hey, what were you thinking about earlier?

jbdavenport: I forgot thnx 2 your arguing and I don't think its relevant anymore anyways.

jadeflower920 has logged on.

jadeflower920: rose, she said you had to solve all the equations on pages 28-33, and she said ur teacher wants u to put them into simplest form using fractions.

RosiePosie51: uugh thts gonna take forever. I should probably get started on it. see u guys 2morrow. r we still meeting for lunch to talk about the model?

jbdavenportswims: I'll b there. Bye, rosie :)

jadeflower920: count me in too. bye rose! hope ur homework doesn't drown u:)

rousingroesal: yep I'll b there. c u l8r rose.

RosiePosie51: k guys bye!

RosiePosie51 has logged off.

I log off of my computer and drag my backpack over to me. It's laden with books, binders, and notebooks, making it bulky and heavy. I pull out my calc books and groan, realizing that along with my calc homework, I still have homework for English/Language Arts, history, and Spanish. Sighing heavily, I open my book to pg. 28 and start writing down the first equation.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! I feel really accomplished-between my two stories, I've published three times today! So, my message is pretty much the same as usual; read, review, answer my poll, and read my other story! **** Have a nice day, and enjoy the story!**

Ch 4

-James-

"James! Time for dinner!" my mom yells up the stairs. "Coming, Mom!" I answer as I stick a bookmark into the book I'm reading and head downstairs into the dining room. When I walk into the kitchen, the smell of homemade tacos, my favorite food, assaults my nose. "Here, set the table please," Mom says as she hands me plates, forks, knives, and napkins. She wipes her forehead, which is slightly sweaty from cooking. One loose, dark curl is sticking out from her long braid, but her green eyes are shining like usual. "Oh, and James? Don't forget you have swim practice tonight at 7," she calls. I head into the dining room and begin to set the table. My brother Joshua, who's 18, heads in from the garage with my dad, both of them rubbing their hands together to warm them. "It's chilly out there," Dad says as he runs his hand over his dark hair, brown with a few streaks of gray. His brown eyes look tired, so he must've had a long day at work. "What's for dinner?" Josh asks, his brown hair messy and his green eyes twinkling. "Tacos," I tell both of them, then go back to setting the table. My sisters- Laura, who's 16, and Erica, who's 12- come down the stairs and grab a tortilla off of the pile that Mom has just placed on the table. Both tall, they have matching curly, brown hair, but Laura has Dad's brown eyes, and Erica got her green eyes from Mom. I'm kind of the black sheep of the family- Mom and Dad adopted me when I was 3 months old. You'd never know it, because I look a lot like both Mom and Dad; I have their dark hair and I have hazel, brownish-green eyes, but I'm not biologically related to anyone in my family.

As everyone sits down at the table to eat, I finish setting the table and sit down at the table. My dad says grace, and then we all fill our tortillas with meat, cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, and sour cream. I bite into my taco and chew slowly, savoring the gooey, messy, spicy goodness. "James, did you and the others decide what you're going to do for your Columbus Day project?" Mom asks.

"Yep. We're going to build a model of the Pínta, one of the ships he sailed here on."

"Neat," Erica commented through a mouthful of taco.

"We're working on it at Jade's house on Saturday. Mr. Carhartt has materials and tools that we can use, and I told Jade about the wood you found, Dad. We can still use that, right?"

"Of course. Do you four know what else you're going to need?"

"We don't know yet. We're meeting with Jade and Nathan at lunch tomorrow, and I plan on talking with Rose tomorrow before school. Can you drop me off a little early?"

"Ooh, James wants to go see Rooose," Erica teases. It's been a long-standing argument between Erica and my parents and I whether or not Rose likes me more than just a friend. My parents think she has a crush on me, but that I don't feel the same way about her. Erica agrees with my parents that Rose has a crush on me, but she thinks I have a crush on her too. And I don't know what to think. I'm pretty sure I don't have a crush on her, and I don't think she has a crush on me either. She knows what it's like to not quite fit into your family; her mom died when she was a baby, and even though Savana, her dad's wife, adopted her when she was not even a year old, her brother Noah is actually her half brother-he's Mr. LeRoy and Savana's son.

Rose loves Savana like a daughter would love her mom, and Savana has always been open in saying that she's never going to try to replace Rose's mother. Since Rose grew up with Savana, she doesn't usually talk about her "legal mom", but there's been a few times where she's called me in tears because her brother was teasing her again about her real mom (Noah isn't the nicest brother on the planet). She doesn't reveal emotions often-she usually holds everything bothering her in until she finally breaks down and tells me- so when she does talk about her mother, I just try and comfort her the best I can.

"Earth to James? James?" Laura says to me, a concerned look on her face. "What? Sorry, I didn't hear you. What were you saying?" I ask.

"I was telling Erica that you don't like it when she teases you about Rose, and then I said, 'Right, James?' and you were staring off into space. What were you thinking about that made you tune out to the world, anyway?"

I try and think of a good excuse, but come up with none. "Rose," I say with a sigh of defeat.

"I knew it!" Erica chirps. "You loooove her! You love her you love her you love her!"

"Erica Grace," Mom says to her, a low tone of warning in her voice. Erica wisely shuts up.

"And FYI, Erica, I don't have a crush on her. I was thinking about her and her real mom." The whole table goes silent. We don't usually talk about Rose's family situation for a few reasons: a) my parents say that it's rude to talk about it, which I agree with, b) even though my parents have been open with me about my adoption, it's still a bit of a touchy subject with my family, and c) Rose is really sensitive about the whole thing, so out of respect for her we don't usually bring it up. "Whatever. Forget I said anything. I know we don't usually talk about it, but you guys mentioned Rose, and that's what I was thinking about, ok?" The rest of my family agrees with me, and we go back to eating our tacos.

After dinner, I clean up my dishes and head upstairs to change into one of my practice suits. I glance at the clock and see that it's almost 6:30, so I grab a towel from my closet and head out to the car, where Josh is waiting. We drive in silence for most of the way to the Chican Public Pool, where we have most of our practices. (We're fortunate enough to have the Chican High pool for home meets, but we can't use it for practice, except on the day before meets.) As I get out of the car and turn to thank Josh for the ride, he says to me, "If you do have a crush on her, tell her, ok? I'll pick you up at 9." With that, he drives away, leaving me to wonder if he knows something I don't. As I warm up with some easy 100s, I ponder what Josh said, and decide that I should probably get another opinion from someone who knows Rose and can be trusted not to tell her anything (definitely NOT Erica, that girl can't keep her mouth shut). I end my warm-up set as the rest of my team arrives, and I start with the daily laps, wondering if I'll ever be able to sort through my feelings.


End file.
